Gorilla Marketing

At a New York marathon, Nike dressed people in sheets with sandwich boards

which pro-claimed that ‘The End is Nigh’. Most onlookers dismissed the

board-wearers as cranks, hardly the image that Nike wants to cultivate. Barbie’s

parent, Mattel, painted an entire street pink to promote its doll, and irked the

local population.

In India, a particular company took up the entire front page of a leading

national English daily, and evoked, at best, tolerant contempt among readers,

and even in the rest of the media, which hurled veiled barbs at the publication

and the company. Of course, since Obtuse Angle doesn’t believe in harsh

criticism, the name of this company shall remain a secret. Suffice it to say it

is a pillar of Bangalore’s Koramangala locality. The money involved in such

campaigns is huge. This is okay if the company is hefty and doesn’t mind

shelling out the big bucks, but another issue needs to be addressed–does it

provide any returns? Sadly, no. While good money is spent, it goes down the

drain. Most ads are dismissed by the public as being foolish, and the brand

recall is nothing to be proud of.

And yet, companies indulge in such extravagances. Why? One reason cited by

the experts is media fragmentation, and the presence of too many players.

Therefore, players who feel the necessity to stand apart from the crowd feel

that they must do something different.

It is nice to be seen doing something different, but just as the

fortunately-dead dot-com industry confused haste with speed, marketers seem to

be confusing the wildly outrageous with the suavely unconventional. Many feel

that mere exposure is sufficient to build a brand. Unfortunately, there exists

good exposure and bad exposure. If the campaign itself is flawed, there is no

brand improvement. Instead, there is the distinct possibility that the whole

thing might boomerang, and actually cause the company itself to be held in

slight scorn. This essentially means money the company spent in promoting its

brand may be of greater value to competitors.

Real advertising tends to portray the concerned company as a big brand, and–this

is more important–also tries to build a bond of closeness with the target

consumer. IBM’s ‘Solutions for a Small Planet’ ad is a good example, far

better than their cold ‘Think’ series. Similarly, Microsoft’s famous ‘Where

do You Want to Go Today?’ ad might be better if it read ‘We Will Take You

Wherever You Want to Go Today’.

While the former slogan is good, the latter brings the brand closer to the

consumer. Too many companies, emphasizing their greatness, tend sometimes to

miss out on the closeness angle with their customers. People should also

remember that flashy and glittery ads are best suited for selling soaps and soft

drinks. Infotech is a serious business, and deserves serious ads. One might buy

a soft drink because a top actor is endorsing it. The same may not be true when

one concerns a computer. Infotech business is not show business, though, even

here, the show must go on.

Parthian shot

In The Problem of Thor Bridge, Sherlock Holmes says, "I don't think I am

in need of booming." The great detective disliked publicity and relied on

his reputation for deduction and analysis to get cases. While people who run

companies may not be able to say that we don’t need booming, it is important

that we temper our marketing and select those methods which can promise the

greatest brand recognition.

Of course, such criticism against the advertisers apart, in the future, such

foolish extravagances will continue. But let us not let such incidents irk us

too much. While it is doubtful if a fool and his money are soon parted–most

fools I know have surprising staying power–it is definitely true that a fool

and his money can throw one great party. So, let us sit back and enjoy the show–while

it goes on.

Balaji N The views expressed here are

those of the author